Measurement of microscopic displacements in graphite/epoxy composite materials using a SEM-generated surface map

Author(s):  
R.C. Burghardt ◽  
J.M. Ehrman ◽  
T.C. Stephens ◽  
M.F. Hibbs

Graphite fiber-reinforced resin composite materials have a wide use in aerospace, automotive and sporting goods applications where high strength to weight ratios are requisite. Many of these materials use highly cross-linked epoxy resins as the matrix material. Unfortunately these resins have a low resistance to crack propagation and as a result research efforts have been directed towards reducing this tendency.The ability to measure microscopic displacements and calculate strain fields in the vicinity of a fracture crack tip under experimental conditions was needed in order to help predict the fracture resistance of various composite materials being tested. A technique was developed that made it possible to derive displacement measurements on a micrometer scale in the region of a crack tip from observations of epoxy-based composites being fractured using a tensile stage equipped scanning electron microscope (SEM). Samples were polished on the surface to be observed and sputter coated with 5 to 10 nanometers of either gold or 60:40 gold-palladium prior to mounting on the TS-2 tensile stage of a JEOL JSM-35CF. This instrument was also equipped with a Krisel beam interceptor, a beam current meter, a Tracor Northern TN-2000 x-ray analyzer and a TN-1310 digital beam control system. Using the digital beam and x-ray mapping capabilities a matrix of small dots was “written” onto the surface of the sample as shown in figure 1.

2015 ◽  
Vol 1101 ◽  
pp. 79-82
Author(s):  
B.C. Suresh ◽  
S.B. Arun

Now a day’s composite materials are taking very important role in industrial growth. Composite materials are widely used in Automobiles, aerospace, submarine and also in other major fields, due to their special characteristics like light weight, high strength, stiffness, corrosion resistance. The determination of Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) of MMCs is important to aid its usage in high temperature environment as in the case of automobile combustion chamber. In these applications the stability of the composites over a long period of operation is a critical design considerationPresent work deals with the thermal property evaluation of the Al alloy / alumina metal matrix composite developed using the Stir Casting with chilling route technique. LM 26 Al alloy is being selected as the matrix material as it is a potential alloy for automotive piston applications. Al alloy / alumina MMCs was cast under end chilling technique by dispersing the reinforcement from 6 to 12 wt% the steps of 3% to study the variation in its thermal properties. At the same time chill material is also changed (Copper and MS) for different composition of MMCs cast to study the thermal behavior variations. After casting the required MMC, test specimens were prepared as per the standards to conduct thermal conductivity (K) tests and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) tests. Above tests were repeated for different composites containing different weight % of dispersed cast using different chills.


Author(s):  
V. A. Kalinichenko ◽  
A. S. Kalinichenko ◽  
S. V. Grigoriev

To create friction pairs operating in severe working conditions, composite materials are now increasingly used. Composite materials obtained with the use of casting technologies are of interest due to the possibility to manufacture wide range of compositions at low price compared to powder metallurgy. Despite the fact that many composite materials have been sufficiently studied, it is of interest to develop new areas of application and give them the properties required by the consumer. In the present work the composite materials on the basis of silumin reinforced with copper granules were considered. Attention was paid to the interaction between the matrix alloy and the reinforcing phase material as determining the properties of the composite material. The analysis of distribution of the basic alloying elements in volume of composite material and also in zones of the interphases interaction is carried out. The analysis of the possibility of obtaining a strong interphase zone of contact between the reinforcing component and the matrix material without significant dissolution of the reinforcing material is carried out.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. A. Laitila ◽  
D. E. Mikkola

This study focuses on characterization of an (Al,Cr)3Ti alloy processed together with titanium powder by reactive mechanical milling (RMM) to produce an ultrafine grained intermetallic alloy matrix with in situ carbide and hydride phases formed during processing. Observations of X-ray scattering as RMM processing time increases show severe broadening of matrix diffraction peaks, accompanied by the appearance of diffraction peaks resulting from the formation of very small crystallites of TiC and TiH1.92 phases with increasing volume fractions, and finally, increasing background intensity as the crystallite size of the matrix phase decreases to ∼2 nm. Estimates of phase volume fractions were made by the direct comparison method, along with crystallite sizes by Warren–Averbach peak profile analysis. The general increase in background intensities has been attributed to random static displacements of the large fraction of atoms located within the grain boundary regions. Further, it has been concluded that the matrix material with a crystallite size of a few nanometers has about half the atoms in statically displaced positions defining the boundary regions. The results argue that background intensity changes should not be ignored and are useful in interpreting scattering from these nano-scale materials.


2015 ◽  
Vol 766-767 ◽  
pp. 252-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Siddique Ahmed Ghias ◽  
B. Vijaya Ramnath

The composite material is a combination of two or more materials with different physical and chemical properties. The composite has superior characteristics than those individual components. A hybrid composite is the one which contains at least three materials. When the matrix material is a metal, the composite is termed as metal matrix composites (MMC). The MMC is a composite material with two constituent parts, one being a metal. The other material may be another metal, ceramic or fiber. Among all the MMC’s, Aluminium is the most widely used matrix material due to its light weight, high strength and hardness. This paper deals with the fabrication and mechanical investigation of hybrid metal matrix composite Al - SiC. The fabrication is done by stir casting by adding the required quantities of additives into the stirred molten Aluminium. The results show significant effect of mechanical properties such as tensile strength, yield stress and flexural strength. The internal structure of the composite is observed using Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and found that are formation of pores in them.


Metals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 874
Author(s):  
Andrey A. Tsarkov ◽  
Vladislav Yu. Zadorozhnyy ◽  
Alexey N. Solonin ◽  
Dmitri V. Louzguine-Luzgin

High-strength crystalline/amorphous composites materials based on (Ti-Ni)-(Cu-Zr) system were developed. The optimal concentrations of additional alloying elements Al, Fe, and Cr were obtained. Structural investigations were carried out using X-ray diffraction equipment (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy-dispersive X-ray module (EDX). It was found that additives of aluminum and chromium up to 5 at% dissolve well into the solid matrix solution of the NiTi phase. At a concentration of 5 at%, the precipitation of the unfavorable NiTi2 phase occurs, which, as a result, leads to a dramatic decrease in ductility. Iron dissolves very well in the solid solution of the matrix phase due to chemical affinity with nickel. The addition of iron does not cause the precipitation of the NiTi2 phase in the concentration range of 0–8 at%, but with an increase in concentration, this leads to a decrease in the mechanical properties of the alloy. The mechanical behavior of alloys was studied in compression test conditions on a universal testing machine. The developed alloys have a good combination of strength and ductility due to their dual-phase structure. It was shown that additional alloying elements lead to a complete suppression of the martensitic transformation in the alloys.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-126
Author(s):  
Anil K. Matta ◽  
Naga S. S. Koka ◽  
Sameer K. Devarakonda

Magnesium Metal Matrix Composites (Mg MMC) have been the focus of consideration by many researchers for the past few years. Many applications of Mg MMCs were evolved in less span of time in the automotive and aerospace sector to capture the benefit of high strength to weight ratio along with improved corrosion resistance. However, the performance of these materials in critical conditions is significantly influenced by several factors including the fabrication methods used for processing the composites. Most of the papers addressed all the manufacturing strategies of Mg MMC but no paper was recognized as a dedicated source for magnesium composites prepared through stir casting process. Since stir casting is the least expensive and most common process in the preparation of composites, this paper reviews particulate based Mg MMCs fabricated with stir casting technology. AZ91 series alloys are considered as the matrix material while the effect of different particle reinforcements, sizes , weight fractions on mechanical and tribological responses are elaborated in support with micro structural examinations. Technical difficulties and latest innovations happened during the last decade in making Mg MMCs as high performance material are also presented.


2018 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 02014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajole Sangamesh ◽  
Naveen Kumar ◽  
K. S. Ravishankar ◽  
S. M. Kulkarni

Natural fiber composite materials are such an appropriate material, that replaces synthetic composite materials for many of practical applications where we need high strength and low density. Natural fiber composites combine the technological, ecological and economical aspects. This leads to discovering its vast applications in the aeronautics, automotive, marine and sporting sectors. This paper deals with the study on mechanical characterization (Tensile, Compression and Flexural) of jute/epoxy (JE) polymer composite. The flexural properties of composites are experimentally tested and are simulated in commercially available FEA software. Flexural tested results are in good agreement with FEA results. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the failed samples reveals the matrix dominated failure.


Author(s):  
Fabrizia Ghezzo ◽  
Xi Geng Miao

Lightweight, high strength fibre-reinforced polymeric composites are leading materials in many advanced applications including biomedical components. These materials offer the feasibility to incorporate multi functionalities due to their internal architecture, heterogeneity of materials and the flexibility of combining them using currently available fabrication methods. In spite of the excellent properties of these materials, their failure is still a questionable and not well predicted event. Delamination, debonding and micro-cracks are only some of the failure mechanisms that affect the matrices of polymer based composites. More complex cases exist with the combination of multiple failure mechanisms. In such cases a self-repairing mechanism that can be auto-triggered in the matrix material once the crack has been formed, would be very beneficial for all the applications of these materials, reducing maintenance costs and increasing their safety and reliability. Self-healing materials have been studied for more than a decade by now, with the specific objective of reducing the risks and costs of cracking and damage in a wide range of materials. Different approaches have been taken to create such materials, depending on the kind of material that needs to be repaired. The most popular methods developed for polymers and polymer reinforced composites are considered in this review. These methods include materials with micro-capsules containing a healing agent, and composites with matrices that can self-heal the cracks by repairing the broken molecular links upon external heating. While the first approach to healing has been widely used and studied in the past decade, in this review we focus on the second approach since less is reported in the literature and more difficult is the development of the materials based on such a method.


Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Sviatoslav A. Baranets ◽  
Amanda B. Childs ◽  
Hua He ◽  
Svilen Bobev

Exploratory studies in the systems Rb–Ga–Sn and Cs–Ga–Sn yielded the cubic type-I clathrates with refined compositions Rb8GaxSn46−x and Cs8GaxSn46−x (6.9 < x < 7.5). Nearly single-phase materials with good crystallinity were obtained from stoichiometric reactions of the elements. The structures were characterized by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. Both Rb8GaxSn46−x and Cs8GaxSn46−x represents cases, where a Group 13 element randomly substitutes a Group 14 element in the structure. The extent of Ga/Sn mixing is apparently governed by the drive of the system to achieve an optimal valence electron count, and hence, Rb8GaxSn46−x and Cs8GaxSn46−x (x ≈ 8) can be regarded as Zintl phases. This notion is supported by structure refinements on a multitude of single-crystal X-ray diffraction data, which also confirm that both types of cages in the cubic type-I structure are fully occupied by Rb and Cs atoms. The open-framework, comprised of 46 nodes per formula unit, adapts to the incorporation of nearly eight Ga atoms within the matrix of Sn, whereby small, short-range distortions result. The exact nature of these effects is still unclear, as so far, the structural variations could only be modeled as both positional and occupational disorder at one of three framework sites. Since vacancies in the structures of the binary type-I clathrates A8Sn46−x☐x (A = Rb, Cs; ☐ = missing Sn atom) are also known to cause local distortions, the latter were also synthesized with the same protocols used for the synthesis of A8GaxSn46−x and structurally re-analyzed. The results from the latter studies confirm that homogeneity issues abound, and that the final structures/compositions are an intricate function of the experimental conditions.


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